Darkness Falls (Darkness Series Book 3) (18 page)

“I wasn’t moving Seth out that day, Travis.”

He looked back at Seth. “But you said you were done, that he can have her. I thought—” He paused as he realized Seth was very much still a part of my life. “Then who?”

I glanced at Seth. “My mother.” I sighed and felt the weight suck me down.

“Hello?” Garrett called from the living room. “Just step away from the barbecue and everything will be—” He stopped when he saw Travis at the table.
Oh Lord, here we go
. “Hey Travis, how are you?” My head snapped back as I tried to understand why he was being nice.

“Good, thanks.” Travis stood. “Well, I’ll let you get to your barbecue.”

“You should stay.” Seth stood as well. “We have plenty of food.” I swore my mouth just hit the floor.

Travis looked at me with a smile. “Yeah, maybe I will. Thanks.”

“Well, hello there, fresh meat.” Pete bumped me aside when he spotted Philly behind Garrett. Philly’s eyes scanned down Pete’s front. “And who might you be?”

“Philly.”

Pete circled him like a dog in heat. “Em, love, I’m not hungry for steak anymore.”

Garrett punched Pete’s arm. “Don’t touch.”

I laughed, and there was no way Garrett was going to stand in Pete’s way of a sexy little thing like Philly. He might be smaller than his brother, but he had a smile that would make anyone, regardless of their sexual orientation, stop and take notice. “Come on, Garrett, the meat is waiting for your secret sauce.”

Maddy showed up with Riggs, who offered to swing by and grab her on the way. She seemed to be comfortable with everyone. It was always sweet to watch Seth being so protective of her. He even made sure she ate everything on her plate.

After dinner was cleaned up, we sat around the table with outdoor heaters on full blast. Seth wrapped a blanket over me before he sat down and draped his arm around me.

Philly and Pete offered to do the dishes, and we could hear them laughing. It was nice that they were getting along. Maddy snuggled in her chair and sipped a mug of hot chocolate. She just seemed to be happy to be near her older brother. Her phone vibrated, and she quickly picked it up.

“Hi.” Her voice was quiet before she glanced at me. Her top teeth bit her lip as though she was worried. “I’m not home, I’m at Emily’s.” Seth kissed my head to show me in his own way he was thinking about me.

“Everything all right?” Seth asked her.

Maddy gave a small nod, but it was clear it was not.

“So, Travis,” Garrett turned the attention to him. “What’s your story?”

Travis, who had remained pretty quiet, cleared his throat. “Don’t really have one. I have twin nephews and am really close with my sister. My parents are still alive, but live away, and that’s about it, really.”

“No girlfriend? Ex-wife?”

“I have an ex-girlfriend, but that ended well.”

Seth squeezed my shoulder. “Have you ever spent any time in Texas?”

Travis’s face dropped, but he quickly recovered. “I visited there once. I’m not really a fan.”

I shifted out of my blanket and let everyone at the table know I’d be right back. I went inside to refill my coffee when I heard a noise from inside my father’s office. I carefully opened the door and had to cup my mouth with what was just burned into my eyes.

Philly had Pete bent over my father’s desk, driving into him from behind. They were both butt naked, while Philly kept a hand on his waist and the other pressed Pete’s front flat against the oak surface. I couldn’t rip my eyes away from them. There was something about it…it was almost beautiful. Philly reached around and grabbed Pete’s erection and gave it a few pumps. Suddenly Pete turned his head and grinned when he spotted me. He looked so happy. The man had no shame.

“Em?” Garrett whispered from the kitchen. My head whipped over to him, and I quickly stepped back and closed the door behind me. “What were you looking at?” I could feel my face was hot, and I had to press my lips together in fear I might laugh. “What?” He tried to reach behind me, but I shifted so I blocked the handle.

“Come help me with the drinks.”

He studied my face, then looked back at Seth, who watched us too. “Em, move, please.”

“I can’t.” I braced my arms on either side of the door frame.

His face twisted like he was trying to hide a smile. “Please.”

“Sorry.”

“Last warning.”

“I’m doing this for your own good, Garrett.” He sighed and acted like he was going to give up. He started to move, but at the last moment he dropped down and lifted me up and over his shoulder. “Garrett!” I squeaked in a whisper.

He opened the door, and I felt every muscle in his body stiffen. I sneaked a peek and saw Philly on his knees with a mouthful of Pete, who was directing him with his hand.

Garrett backed out and closed the door behind him, then he started to pace the kitchen. The floor became a blur and my stomach started to turn. I tapped his back and broke him from his trance. “You think you could put me down and then continue to stew?”

“Oh, shoot.” He placed my feet back on the ground and ran his hand through his hair. “Sorry.”

“I tried to warn you,” I whispered. He was pale as a ghost. “But in all fairness to Pete, that,” I pointed over my shoulder, “takes two.”

“That’s not what’s bothering me,” he said, lost in thought again. “I see that Philly and I have a few more things in common.” I blinked a few times trying to understand what he meant. “Not about the whole man on man thing, just something else.”

“What?” I asked. I didn’t care how nosy I was, I was curious.

He rolled his eyes. “Never mind.” He swatted my arm. “Next time, you could say your brother is naked and screwing the biggest man whore you know.”

“I’ll remember that for next time.” Garrett glared at me before he walked outside.

The doorbell rang, and it made me wonder who was not just walking right in. I hurried to the door.

“Hi.” I looked over my shoulder and saw Seth come into the living room. “Is everything all right?” He stepped into the house, and that was when I saw his black eye and split lip.

“No, actually, I’m not.”

“What the hell happened, Nicholas?” Seth hissed as he reached for his brother’s chin to get a better look.

Nicholas glanced at me. “I think we need to talk, Seth. I think it’s time you heard what’s really going on.”

***

Seth

I slipped my arm around Emily’s waist and politely asked her to give us a moment alone. She kissed my jaw and told Nicholas to stay for a drink when we were done.

Nicholas wouldn’t sit, he could only pace, his fists clenching and unclenching. I could see he was teeter-tottering with emotion.

“Okay, Nicky, tell me what’s going on.” I folded my arms and tried to act calm, but I was honestly scared as hell to hear this story.

“It’s Dad.” He let out a long, unsteady breath. “Someone is after him, and I don’t think it’s a client. He tried to get me to dig into some man who died a while ago, but I couldn’t find anything. Then he asked me to deliver a letter, but I said no, no more, that I was done with whatever mess he had gotten himself into. It was his problem, not mine.” He stopped to look at me, but he didn’t have to say it. I knew.

“You don’t say no to Jack.” I rubbed my head. “What does he have on you, Nicky?”

“All the shit I buried for him in the past, he could sink me, ruin my career.” He started to pace again, and he muttered under his breath.

“All right, look. Do you still have the letter?”

“No, I wouldn’t even take it. The man has me scared of my own fingerprints.”

I knew that feeling. “All right, is Dad leaving anytime soon? We need to get into his office to see what we can find.”

“I’ve searched it,” he said as he touched his split lip. “I thought he was out, but he came back early.” I rubbed my face with twitchy fingers. I’d love more than anything to reciprocate the pain my father had brought to Nicholas. “There’s nothing there.” He stopped to stare at me. “Seth, I don’t know what’s going on, but whatever it is, it’s bad, and it’s getting worse.”

“Shit…”

“All I can tell you is the letter was for a woman, ah…Tina Upton.”

I convinced Nicholas to stay for drinks. I thought he needed to calm down before he went home, whereas I needed to take a moment for myself. I grabbed a beer and slipped out on the front porch. Something was familiar about Nicholas’s story. I took a seat on the stairs, stared up at the cloudy sky, and let my mind wander back.

I looked around the station and saw everyone was hard at work. I wondered what beat I’d get. I saw the sign for the new recruits and headed into the conference room where a bunch of other guys were waiting. I took note of people’s names.

Two bigger guys who looked like they were partners nodded at me as I sat in front of them. Off to my left, I saw a newbie like me. His name tag read Davis, and his partner Johnnie was a dead ringer for John McCain.

“Hey, man.” A guy a little shorter but just as thick offered his hand. “O’Brian.”

“Connors.” I pointed to the seat. “It’s open.”

“Thanks.”

The sergeant came into the room and stood at the podium. He cleared his throat and took a quick sip of coffee from his stained mug. A little spilled, and he glanced down at his tie with a sigh like this hadn’t been the best morning for him. His neck flexed to prove my theory right. He was pissed off about something.

“Morning, men.” He checked his vibrating cell phone, then looked back to us. “We have a few new recruits today. Welcome.” Davis, the guy across from me started to clap, but quickly stopped when he saw all of us were staring at him. “Okay, so O’Brian and Connors,” the sergeant pointed over at us, “and Johnnie, the clapper is yours.”

A low murmur filled the air as the sergeant took a call, but before he left, he pointed to the whiteboard that showed us which routes we were assigned to.

We all headed outside to our squad cars. I tossed the keys at O’Brian, who seemed happy with this. I, personally, preferred to be able to scan people’s faces. I didn’t want to worry about driving. Besides, after what I heard about O’Brian’s driving score, I felt pretty damn safe.

I was comfortable with O’Brian. He didn’t feel the need to talk, he seemed alert, and we found we got hungry at the same time. What more could a man ask?

“You going to Johnnie’s party Friday?” he asked me while I hungrily dove in to the world’s best sandwich. “Yeah, all the guys are invited, I think. The guy looks just like John McCain.” I laughed as I opened my water.

“That was my thought too.” My phone vibrated, and I struggled while I balanced my lunch to pull it free. “Shit,” I hissed. I didn’t want to deal with this now.

O’Brian packed up his food up and started the car. “Where to?”

I was a private guy. I didn’t like to share my feelings or my personal life with anyone, but after the text I had to head home, and O’Brian, thankfully, didn’t ask any questions.

We weren’t even two feet into my parents’ entryway when my baby sister jumped into my arms in a full-out sob.

“Why is he sooo mean?” Her big blue eyes peeked out from between my arms. Tears streamed down her sweet little cheeks. “Why can’t me and Mommy come live with you?” I bent down and kissed her head. She had seen way too much for an eleven year old.

I glanced over at O’Brian, who seemed generally worried about my sister. I told my sister to go to her room, lock the door, and wait for me to come get her. She hurried upstairs. I headed into my father’s office, where my brother Nicholas was in a chair in the corner, eyes locked on the floor.

Nicholas would be a part of the San Francisco Police Department in a year. I wasn’t sure who wanted it more—him or our father. I knew our father hoped I’d be his puppet and do his dirty work, but when that didn’t happen, he moved on to Nicholas. My brother didn’t have much of a spine to start with, but now he didn’t have any. He just jumped when Jack said so. This in turn had ruined our relationship.

“What the hell do you want, boy?” my father snapped at me. He was agitated, the ice in his glass rattled through the silence that filled the room. I headed over to Nicholas.

“You good?”

He slowly nodded. “Yup.”

I shook my head and wondered how he could be such a sellout. I saw some pictures tossed about on his desk, along with a letter. Before I got a good look at anything, my father slammed his hand down to cover the face in the photo.

“Get out, boy!” he screamed, which made my sister gasp from the doorway. Why hadn’t she stayed upstairs? “Get the hell out of here!” he shouted. Garrett stepped into the room and wrapped an arm around my sister. He tucked her behind him as if to shield her. He glanced at me before he removed her from the room.

I turned to see my father pour himself another drink. He was a drunk, and he was the reason I chose to go into the police department, to try to do something good in life. I would not bend like my brother, no matter how hard he tried.

“Nicholas,” I called over my shoulder, “give us a moment.” To my surprise, he left.